Stage Veterans Make A Birdie With ‘Fairway'

Ludwig pokes fun at the eccentricities of private country clubs and avid golfers in this American tribute to British farces of the 1930s and 1940s.

By DONNA KELLYLEDGER CORRESPONDENT

A private country club might appear stodgy and its golf course serene but the Theatre Winter Haven production of Ken Ludwig's "Fox on the Fairway" invites audiences to find the excitement beyond the green and behind the doors of the clubhouse.

Ludwig pokes fun at the eccentricities of private country clubs and avid golfers in this American tribute to British farces of the 1930s and 1940s.

Sexual innuendos abound at the Quail Valley Country Club as the directors of two rival clubs bet on which establishment will win a golf tournament.

Henry Bingham, director of the Quail Valley club, begins to unravel when he and club member Pamela hatch a plot to win the tournament and win the bet. Their scheme morphs into an uproarious, if not terribly original, string of events — the flushing of a family heirloom, a rousing game of priceless hot potato, relationship revelations, and the surfacing of hidden talents.

Although the production includes the requisite flying one-liners and crazy antics, Director Jim McClellan uses these with a lighter touch than normal for farce. This approach offers a chance for each joke to sink in and be appreciated before it is pushed aside for another.

The success of farce is dependent upon razor-sharp comedic timing and mastery of subtlety. McClellan cast four experienced actors well-versed in the performance of farce — Theatre Winter Haven stalwarts Larry Helms, Becky Everhart, Suzanne Clark and Will Green.

Therein lies the secret to the production's success.

Helms is amusing as the sarcastic and jaded Bingham. He provides a theatrical treat to audiences watching Bingham descend into comical hysteria while trying to salvage the bet.

His drunken — and very public — profession of love through a phallic microphone sends the audience into gales of laughter.

The treat is sweetened by Helms' onstage chemistry with co-stars Clark, Green and Everhart. They blend like the smooth, spicy-sweetness of a fine cayenne pepper chocolate bar.

Green is stellar as the obnoxious yet laid-back Dickie. The tacky golf sweaters he sports match his personality. He is the perfect foil to Helms' uber-tense Bingham. Dickie laughs as much as his rival doesn't.

Helms and Clark, who have been cast mates in TWH productions for decades, positively sizzle as Bingham and the sexy Pamela Peabody manipulate two young lovers to ensure victory on the golf course.

Clark's comeback quips are sharp, whether they are designed for Bingham or ex-husband Dickie.

Everhart, a longtime TWH regular who appeared as a hippie mom on the ABC television pilot of "Real Mature", enters late in the show but quickly takes command of the stage as Bingham's overbearing, no-nonsense wife Muriel.

Teenagers Cheyenne Grantham and T.J. Moore as lovebirds Louise and Justin obviously feed off the experience of their cast mates and hold their own with some of local theater's most celebrated actors.

Grantham, a theater major at Harrison School for the Arts and TWH newbie, stays in perfect sync with the adults even as she squeals and slams doors. Her spotlighted soliloquies are humorous and touching.

A sophomore at Auburndale High School, Moore has been performing with TWH for five years and his experience shows. He gives himself completely to madcap antics, as Justin fights his nerves and comes unglued when Louise breaks their engagement.

The actors run in and out — and around — the taproom of Quail Valley Country Club. Alan Reynolds designed a typical country club setting, complete with a wet bar and plenty of doors to slam. Two sets of French doors allow changing hues of light to show the passage of time.

While blatant sexual comments and gestures render this production unsuitable for children, adults, even those who aren't huge fans of farce or golf, will enjoy the potshots taken at the expense of country clubs everywhere.